Mina of the Fire Nation
by Elphaba Weasley
Summary: Story of Mina, a girl from the fire nation. Kind of AU in the sense that it's the same story line, I just added an OC. Mina grows up in the Palace with Zuko and Azula and when it comes time for Zuko's banishment she goes with him and Iroh in search of the Avatar. Rated T to be safe for later chapters. Please R&R. It's going to be better than it sounds.
1. P1: Thunderstorm

**A/N: Now this is really my first fic in a while. I'm taking a risk here with this idea so please put up with me. I'm pretty much rewriting the series focusing on Zuko and my OC. I don't know if that makes it AU or not but there you have it. I'm going to start with a few (probably 3-5), short prologue-ish chapters. It may start slow, but it will get better.**

The sun had set on the small fire nation town of Hira'a. All was peaceful, except for the storm clouds rolling in. Mina, a four year old girl, had just been settled into bed. Her parents read her a bedtime story, kissed her forehead, then turned out the light. She was almost asleep when the storm began. Rain pelted the small house and the wind shook the walls. Lightning tore across the sky followed by loud thunder claps. The latest roll jerked Mina out of her half sleeping-half waking state. She was frightened. She clung to her blanket and pulled it up over her head and hid under her pillow for extra protection. She kept like that for a while hoping, in vain, that the storm would stop or that she would at least fall asleep. Finally, she starting crying for her mother and father, but they couldn't hear her over the storm.

Suddenly, a loud crack cut through the sound of her tears and the storm, followed by the loudest boom yet. The unmistakable sound of a tree falling filled the eerie silence. Then, her house was torn in two. The flaming tree fell right on top of her parents who were killed on impact before they could even wake up to realize what was happening. The rain had quenched the fire leaving the little girl safe for now. She had no idea that her parents were dead. She kept crying and crying and thought they just couldn't hear her.

The next day, a neighbor found the child and contacted a woman who hailed from the small town. Upon hearing the news, Ursa paid a visit to her hometown and took in the little girl: Mina, daughter of Ikem, Ursa's first love. The least she could do for her departed friend was raise his child and give her a life she may not have had if she stayed in Hira'a.

Ursa cooed reassuring sentiments as she carried Mina back to the ship that would take them home, to Mina's new home. Waiting on board was a boy her age.

"Zuko, I want you to come meet someone." she said. The little boy tottered over to his mother, suspiciously eyeing the new child holding his mother's hand. "Zuko, this is Mina. She's going to come and live with us at the palace. Can you say hello?"

Zuko was silent, but this didn't concern Ursa. He was a shy boy. It was her two year old daughter, Azula, that she was worried about. She wouldn't have to deal with that until they got back to the palace though. Firelord Ozai had offered to keep Azula for the day to make the trip easier on his wife.

Within the hour the ship had set sail. Mina and Zuko had been left in a special playroom on board. Zuko approached the little girl, sensing her nervousness.

"So Mina, are you ready to go home?"

**A/N: Just to clarify, Mina and Zuko are the same age. R&R!**


	2. P2: Three Years Later

**A/N: Here's the second prolgue-y thing! Sorry, I'm big on back story. I mapped it out and there will be five of these! (yeah, yeah, I know...but at least they're short) Enjoy!**

THREE YEARS LATER:

Mina and her personal servant had just gotten back to her room from dinner. Three years living in the palace and she hadn't adjusted to the lack of privacy. Of course, it didn't matter now: how much privacy does a seven year old need? However she was curious about how she would feel about it when she was older.

"It's time for a bath Princess Mina." The servant said.

"I'm not a princess." Three years in the palace and everybody thought she belonged there. They thought she was princess. She always had to remind them otherwise. The servant just rolled her eyes and made a mental note to stop trying and just call the little girl Mina from now on. She drew some water into a basin and heated with firebending. Mina squirmed until the servant gave up and let her bathe herself.

After her bath, Mina put on the pajamas her servant laid out for her, then she allowed the servant to brush her hair for her. "Is there anything else you need before I retire for the night, miss?"

"No you can go to bed now if you want." The little girl didn't see a reason for any formality. The servant bowed, then left the room. Mina climbed into her bed and waited for Aunt Ursa to come tuck her in and kiss her goodnight. The little girl was forever grateful that the powerful woman had bothered to take her in three years ago. Ursa told her children to think of Mina as a cousin and so they did. Azula wasn't very fond of her but even at the age of five Azula wasn't very fond of anybody. In return, Mina referred to Ursa and Firelord Ozai as Aunt and Uncle respectively. She even regarded Iroh and his son as Uncle and cousin.

There was a knock on the door and Aunt Ursa came in. She hugged the child, kissed her forehead and tucked her into bed. "Good night my darling, Mina." She extinguished the candles lighting the room and closed the door almost all the way, allowing a small sliver of light to shine through. "Good night Aunt Ursa." Mina drifted off to sleep.

Suddenly she was torn from her slumber by a loud boom. It was storming outside. Ever since her parents died, she had been terrified of thunderstorms. She used to go the Ursa and Ozai's bedroom and wake her aunt up but the after the last storm, Ozai forbade her to do so. He said she was too old to be afraid of "a little thunder."

The thunder rolled again. Where could she go. She could go find her servant, but the servants' quarters was all the way on the other side of the palace. Azula's room was closest, but there was no way Mina was going to let Azula know she was afraid of thunderstorms. That left two choices: She could stay in her room or go wake up Zuko. Waking up Zuko was the only viable option.

She hopped out of bed, left her bedroom, and tiptoed down the hall. She had just entered the young prince's bedroom when the thunder rolled again. Mina jumped and produced a small yelp. Zuko sprang out of bed. "Who's there!"

"Hi Zuko," she said nervously.

"What are you doing in here Mina?" he asked confused.

"I'm scared of the th-th-thunder and Uncle Ozai said I can't go to Aunt Ursa in the middle of the night anymore." she explained. The young prince sensed the girl's fear and understood why she had come to his room.

"Do you want to sleep in here tonight?" he offered. "I won't tell mommy or daddy."

"Thank you Zuko." she was grateful for his kindness.

"My bed is big enough for both of us. Just make yourself comfortable."

Within a few minutes both children were fast asleep.

**A/N: As you all wonder what the hell this has to do with anything. Patience my friends. R&R! I'm going to try and post the last three back story chapters tonight.**


	3. P3: Ozai's Release

**A/N: Just a little warning: This chapter is one of the reasons why I had to make the rating T. I"m going to try and be as tasteful as I can with details and what not but this chapter contains adult themes. Enjoy!**

Ursa was gone now. She had been banished. The events of three months ago went by so fast that nobody had really pieced together what had happened yet, or at least none of the children had. Azula kept letting on that she knew something Zuko and her didn't, but Mina knew it was just one of Azula's tricks to make her brother angry. Ursa's banishment had confused Mina and even though she was suspicious that Ozai's succession to the throne had something to do with it she really couldn't be sure.

Anyhow, life went on.

Mina went to school with Azula at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. She quickly proved to be gifted intellectually and flew through the various levels of education. At the pace she was going at she should finish her formal education two years earlier than expected. She was also a talented firebender, but often held back as to not upstage Prince Zuko or Princess Azula. Firelord Ozai insisted that Mina address his children by there formal titles around him and in public because he wanted to create a known division between her and his children. Mina knew that Ozai was waiting for the perfect opportunity to get Mina out of the picture. She was smarter and more talented than his children, the possible heirs to his throne, and this worried him. Mina was completely aware of his feelings towards her, which is why she was shocked to be summoned to his personal quarters one day, three months after Ursa disappeared.

She walked briskly to the Firelord's bedroom. When he got there the door was wide open, but she knocked anyway. "Come in Mina." She entered cautiously. Ozai closed the door behind her. Mina bowed instinctively upon her arrival. Ozai was stickler for common formalities. "You are probably wondering why I called you here." he mused.

"Yes sir."

"You know, you're over achieving isn't going to get you very far around her Mina. You need to be useful." he said.

"What do you mean, sir?" Mina was nervous now. She couldn't get over the way he was looking at her, staring her down.

"If you were actually part of the royal family you success in school and firebending would get you very far. In fact, I would make you heiress over Zuko any day. But alas, you are not a member of the royal family." he thought aloud. "So tell me something."

"Yes sir."

"Why should you be here?"

Mina struggled for an answer but knew she didn't have one. She'd counted her blessings constantly and was aware that if Ursa hadn't taken her in seven years ago she'd probably be living on the street right now.

"Mina, disrobe." Firelord Ozai demanded.

"Excuse me?" Mina asked completely taken aback.

"Take. Off. Your. Clothes." Although his voice was serious, he had a smile on his face. "Do as you are told Mina."

"Y-yes sir."

Mina stood in front of the Firelord completely naked. He grabbed her waist and pulled her in for an extremely one-sided, passionate kiss. Mina broke away and took a step back.

"What are you doing?" Mina asked, although she was completely aware of what was going on. Again Ozai pulled her in, but this time he planted kisses down her neck and moved his free hand around her torso. He pushed her onto his bed, then he undressed. The eleven year old was too paralyzed from shock to move. Soon he was on top of her.

"Please don't." she begged. But it was too late.

When he was finished he leaned down and whispered "This is how you'll earn your right to stay in the palace. You must come to my quarters whenever I call on you. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir." she nodded through her tears.

"Good. You are free to go now Mina."

She quickly threw on her clothes, bowed to the Firelord, and ran to her room. She ran her own bath water, and bathed without bothering to heat the water. When she had finished she told her servant that she wished to not be bothered for the rest of the night. As she lay in bed she heard the rain begin to fall and soon it was full out storming. Although the thunder scared her, she dare not leave her bedroom. Fifteen minutes after the storm had started her bedroom door opened. She froze in terror.

"Mina, are you okay?" a familiar voice asked. It was Prince Zuko. He came over and sat on her bed.

"Yes, what made you think otherwise?" she said as calmly as possible. The prince laid down next to her in order to make eye contact easier.

"You've come to my bedroom every time there's a thunderstorm for the past four years." he explained. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Mina wrapped her arms around Zuko and began sobbing into his chest. Surprised by the sudden action, he rubbed her back reassuringly. He knew he would have to give Mina time if he wanted her to open up to him, so he didn't prod. He figured he would find out what had upset her eventually, but not tonight. Mina cried to Zuko well past the storm's end, but Zuko remained with her all night. Things were never quite the same in palace after that night.

**A/N: So there you have it. I don't think I was too graphic, but please let me know otherwise. Not all chapters will be like this one...just saying. Read and Review! **


	4. P4: Agni Kai

**A/N: Only one more back story chapter after this, then we'll get to the real story! And is anybody actually reading this? Read, Review, Follow, Favorite so I know I'm not wasting my time! Enjoy!**

"Prince Zuko! What's wrong?" Mina called after the young man who had just stormed past her. He didn't look back, or even acknowledge her, so she followed him. "Zuko!" she called after him. Finally he spun around and addressed her.

"Nothing is wrong Mina. Just go away."

"You're lying." she said plainly.

"Oh yeah? Prove it." he challenged.

"You just did." she smirked. "Please tell me what happened."

"Not here. I don't want to talk about it out in the open. Let's go to my room."

* * *

"So spill Zuzu." Mina demanded.

"Don't call me that!" he exclaimed.

"Sorry." she said. "Anyway, get on with the story." She flopped down on the prince's bed and looked at him attentively.

Zuko took a deep breath and began to retell the events that had just occurred. "Okay, so I convinced Uncle to let me in to the war meeting today and the Admiral was talking about his strategy, which included essentially sending thousands of new recruits to their deaths as a distraction. I didn't think it was right so I spoke out against it, even though Uncle warned me to not speak out of turn."

"That was very noble of you, Prince Zuko." interrupted Mina.

"Ha. At least someone thinks so. My father said my actions showed blatant disrespect and arranged an Agni Kai." Zuko explained.

Mina gasped. "Against the Admiral?"

"Yeah, I mean he was the one I disrespected right? But don't worry, I'm not worried. He's old and isn't as strong as he used to be."

"Yeah, but Zuko, he's a firebending master and you're a thirteen year old kid. I can't believe Firelord Ozai called for an Agni Kai." But Mina could believe it. Ozai was only concerned with making himself look good. Everybody had to know that he had complete control over every aspect of his life and his kingdom. This is why she was so nervous about Zuko's Agni Kai.

"Well thanks for making me nervous." he sighed.

"I'm sorry darling, but you know I'm a realist." she said. "I'm sure you'll do fine. The worst that can happens is you lose, right?" There was a sudden knock on the door. Princess Azula entered.

"It's dusk Zuzu. It's time for you to get your butt kicked."

"Don't call me that!" he exclaimed.

"I see your having a moment with girlfriend before you can never show your face in public again." she teased

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"I'm not his girlfriend!" Zuko and Mina denied simultaneously.

"Whatever. The faster you get down there, the faster it'll be over. You can't avoid the inevitable forever, Zuko." Azula left the room with a sadistic smirk.

"Don't listen to her, she's just a really bitter, mean spirited little girl." Mina tried to console him. "I'll see you down there."

"Thank you, Mina."

* * *

Mina took her seat between Uncle Iroh and Azula when she got down to stadium. She noticed General Zhao was there too. Iroh looked very nervous. "He'll be okay Uncle." Mina said and grabbed the man's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"I hope you are right Mina." Then the Agni Kai began.

The two opponents turned around to face each other and Zuko was in for the shock of his life. He had expected the old admiral to be facing him, but instead it was none other than Zuko's father: Firelord Ozai himself. Mina gasped.

"I- I don't understand." was all Zuko could manage to say.

"You must learn respect, Prince Zuko."

"I'm sorry! I've learned my lesson. I won't fight you."

"Stand up and fight!"

"No. Please father." the young prince pleaded. Then Ozai did the unthinkable.

"You must learn respect!" The Firelord directed a blow toward his son's face. Zuko cried out in pain and confusion. Iroh looked away, Azula and Zhao had looks of delight and enjoyment etched on their faces, and Mina just sat there in horror, absolutely helpless. Ozai proceeded to banish Zuko from the Fire Nation. The only way he could return was if he found and captured the Avatar, who had been missing for almost a hundred years.

Mina ran out of the hall after the audience had been dismissed. She needed to see Zuko, but she didn't know where he had been taken. Her frantic searching caused her to run right into Iroh.

"He is leaving tomorrow." he said simply. "Firelord Ozai has granted Zuko a ship and crew to aid his search. I am going with him."

"I am too then!" Mina exclaimed.

"I am not opposed to you coming but you must think this through." Iroh warned. "You've already finished you formal education and have mastered firebending. In due time you could have any job you want. You could marry a nobleman and have a nice family. You could have a comfortable life here in the Fire Nation."

Before she could respond, a servant interrupted and gave her a note. It was from Ozai. She gave it a cursory glance because she already knew what it said. He had summoned her to his bedroom after dinner tonight. She replied to Iroh's advice while trying to fight back tears, "No. I can't."

**A/N: Please review (even just to say it sucks), follow, and/or favorite!**


	5. P5: Decisions and Departure

**A/N: The last back story chapter! WOO! I almost decided not to write it tonight...but then I got a review! They make the world go round you know. Enjoy!**

****Mina was laying in bed when Ozai barged in. "I thought I told you to be in room after dinner! Do you want to give me an excuse to kick you out?"

Mina took a deep breath and stood up. "You don't have to worry about that. I'm leaving with Zuko and Uncle Iroh tomorrow." This took the raging Firelord by surprise.

"What? Is life not good enough here? Are you not satisfied?" He slapped her face.

"I'm sick and tired of being victimized by you!" she exclaimed defiantly. He advanced toward her.

"Are you telling me that you don't enjoy every second you have with me?" he asked in disbelief.

"You think I enjoy that?!" she screamed. "I was eleven years old when you first had me, and you've done so consistently for the past two years! How _could _I enjoy it?" She had tears in her eyes, but she couldn't tell if they were from rage or sadness. "How could any self-respecting woman enjoy being pleasured by a man who got off from the deploring whimpers of a child for two years? You are vile and despicable and perverted Ozai!"

Ozai's eyes narrowed and his fists clenched in rage. "I think you mean 'Firelord Ozai.'" he seethed. He grabbed her by the neck and pushed her onto the bed. He easily tore off her clothes and quickly undid his trousers. When he was finished he pulled up his pants and stormed out of the room leaving Mina bloody, beaten and angry on her bed.

Iroh was just approaching Mina's bedroom door when he saw his brother storm out. He wondered what Ozai had been doing and why it had made him so angry. Assuming it was safe to enter since Ozai had just left, Iroh opened the cracked door wider so he could enter.

Mina was still sprawled on her bed in the same position the Firelord had left her in. She was dozing off, but became aware of the older man in her room and quickly covered herself with a blanket. "I'm so sorry, I should've knocked. What happened to you?" he asked as he took in the blood on the sheets, the bruises all over her body (mainly on the face and hips), and her nudity. Suddenly he understood everything. Ozai's anger, Mina's battered body, and the reason why she couldn't have a comfortable life in the Fire Nation. "How long has this been going on?" he asked angered.

"Two years." Mina was crying again.

"Is this why you want to go with Zuko? You want to leave this place."

She nodded her head. "It's one of the reasons I want to go with Zuko." Iroh was pretty sure he knew the other unspoken reasons.

"We are leaving very early tomorrow morning. I will pack your things while you bathe. Let me run the bath water for you." He did so and helped the poor girl into the tub. "Try not to fall asleep. You need to wash up." Mina did as she was told while Iroh packed a trunk for her. She didn't have as much clothes as the royal children had so he was able to pack just about everything in her room. After she was clean Mina put on a simple night gown and went back out to the main part of her bedroom.

"You look terrible." Iroh said. "I had no idea that my brother had the capacity to be this cruel to little girl."

"This is definitely the worst its been." Mina agreed.

"You aren't sleeping in here tonight. Come to my room for the night. It'll make our departure faster tomorrow." Mina followed his order without complaint.

* * *

The sun had yet to rise on the Fire Nation the next day when they all got ready to leave. All of the trunks and supplies had been taken aboard the night before to hasten their departure.

"What happened to you? What are you doing here?" he asked Mina.

"I'm coming with you Zuko." she said.

"What happened to you?" he repeated looking at the nasty bruises on her face.

"Don't worry about it. I'm going to go lay down, I'm still really tired."

* * *

Mina woke up at around noontime. She examined herself in the mirror for the first time since Ozai's attack. She really did look terrible. Dark bruises covered almost her entire face. She pulled up her shirt to examine her hips. They were covered also. She hurt all over. She left her room and went to the mess hall. Zuko and Iroh had just sat down to lunch.

"Mina!" Iroh exclaimed. "Please, come join us!" She accepted her uncle's invitation and sat across from Zuko. She smiled at him, which he returned and tried not to stare at her bruises to much.

"Well aren't we a motley crew?" she laughed. "Two beat up kids and an old man." It was desperate attempt to lighten the mood.

"Why did you choose to join us in my banishment?" Zuko asked.

"Because I care about you Zuko and I couldn't bare to live in that forsaken palace without someone who understands me." she stated simply. Zuko nodded. "Plus, who would protect me from the thunderstorms?"

**A/N: YAY! Back story is complete! The real story will be coming at you soon...and by soon I mean probably the weekend because school starts up again tomorrow. Please review, follow and/or favorite!**


	6. The Avatar Returns

_**A/N:I'm bringing this back! I updated the last chapter because looking back, it was stupid to end the chapter their. I know it isn't much now, but it's a start. There will be more to come hopefully every day of this month. Read and Review and wait patiently. I'm working on it, I promise :)**_

Mina stared out into the horizon. Two years they had been out at sea, two years they had been searching for the Avatar, but to no avail. They had searched each Air Temple, their hope dwindling after each failure. Now, they were just aimlessly searching. Unfortunately for them, the world is a very large place. They were currently near the South Pole. She pulled her cloak around her tighter to protect her from the winter wind. Zuko walked up behind her.

"How are you?" he asked. She almost laughed at how casual he sounded. Zuko didn't rub off as casual to anyone.

"I'm freezing!" she exclaimed. "How are you?" She mocked his preternaturally casual tone. He smiled.

"I still don't understand why you came with us. It's been two years and I've yet to hear an explanation." he said.

"What was wrong with whole thunderstorms bit?" she asked.

"There must be some deeper reason, Mina. Nobody just uproots their entire life just to be with the person who comforts them in storms."

"Maybe there isn't. But, f there is I'm sure you'll learn when the time is right." That's all she wanted to say on the subject. "Do you really think we'll find the Avatar down here?"

"Honestly, I don't know, but it's worth looking, right?"

"I guess so."

She hated not having any general direction. The Air Temples were worth looking into but once those turned up dry she began to worry. They could wander around the world aimlessly for years and still have as much success as they've had so far, which is to say none.

"Okay, Prince Zuko It's time for your firebending lesson." she heard Iroh say. She pulled up something to sit on so she could watch. Having already mastered firebending, she only took part in the lessons if she felt like it and if she was really bored. About thirty minutes in she heard Zuko yell and shoot out some random fire blasts. He had gotten frustrated. Again.

"Hey, hey, hey, There's no need to get so frustrated Zuko." She said trying to calm him down. "You can't expect to get it on the first try."

"That's easy for you to say!" he exclaimed.

"Of course it is. I've been there, done that. I'm passing on my wisdom." she shot back, but he was already trying again. Suddenly a large pillar of blue light shot through the sky along the horizon.

"The Avatar!" Zuko shouted.

"How do you fucking figure?" she asked bewildered. "How the hell does a random blue light in the sky equate to the Avatar? I don't understand that brain of yours."

"The only source powerful enough to give off that much light is the Avatar!" he explained.

"Well, I can't argue with that logic." she said sarcastically.

"Helmsman! Change course to the light!" he ordered and Mina facepalmed. "Uncle, I need to learn some advanced firebending if I expect to beat the Avatar. He's had over a hundred years to master all four elements!" Although Iroh tried to argue he ultimately gave in to his nephew's persistence. Mina just sat back and enjoyed the show.

After Zuko quit his lesson Iroh and Mina sat down for lunch. "Do you really think that light was the Avatar?" Mina asked the old man.

"I cannot say, but for Zuko's sake let's hope." he said. He knew why she was nervous and so quick to doubt the possibility. "When we go back to the Fire Nation, you do not need to go back to the palace. You are older now, it will be easier for you to make a life for yourself elsewhere. You won't need to be dependent on the royal family anymore. I will help you as best I can." he offered. She smiled at the man. He always seemed to know a person's real motivation for asking questions.

"Thank you, Uncle." she said relieved. Zuko entered.

"How can you guys be eating at a time like this? I'm about to capture the Avatar!" he exclaimed.

"We all aren't on the adrenaline high you're on right now. I'm hungry." Mina said calmly. She was used to his irrational anger. He just stared at her and Iroh laughed.

"Prince Zuko, you could learn a lot from Mina. She's always so calm." Iroh suggested.

"I am calm!" the prince shouted. Mina laughed. She finished her food and excused herself from the table.

"Come on Zuko." she said and he followed her.

"What is it?" he asked impatiently once they had walked to the tip of the bow.

"I just wanted to tell you to not get your hopes up. Even if the Avatar is down here, there's a very high chance that he'll defeat, if not, elude you." Mina explained. "I'm not trying to discourage you but-"

"I'm a realist darling." Zuko finished her sentence with his best Mina impression. They both laughed.

"I do not sound like that!" She joked. Suddenly a large Fire Nation flare rose into the sky. Zuko pulled out his binoculars and smiled.

"I found the Avatar. And his hiding place." he said. Mina snatched the binoculars out of his hand and put them to her eyes. She saw a boy carrying a girl back to a small village nestled into the snow. He certainly didn't look like a member of the Water Tribe. He certainly didn't look a hundred years old either. "Full steam ahead toward the Water Tribe village!" Zuko ordered.

"Zuko are you sure this could be the Avatar? That was kid, not an old man." Mina tried to explain.

"I saw him airbending Mina! It has to be him!"

"Whatever you say." she shook her head.

"Stop being such a pessimist!" he shouted. "Things are actually going good for us. We can go home soon."

"I'm thrilled." she said flatly. Zuko left it at that.

* * *

Every crew member put on their armor, except for Iroh. He was going to remain on board. Zuko was shocked to see that Mina had gotten suited up. "I thought you were Ms. The Avatar Isn't Here Prince Zuko You're Crazy." He laughed.

"I'm not about to let you embarrass yourself in front of a bunch of strangers alone." she smiled back.

"Gee, thanks." he said.

"Somebody's gotta have your back, and since Uncle Iroh is too fat to fit into the armor, I've gotta do it." This made them both laugh.

"I heard that!" Iroh exclaimed from down the deck some. This made them laugh harder. Finally the ship stopped at the coast of the small village. The crew made their way off the ship, led by Zuko. Mina was at his right hand. They were greeted by the members of the village.

"I'm looking for the Avatar!" Zuko exclaimed. The people stared at him blankly. "He'd be about this age," he said, pulling an elderly woman out of the crowd, '"master of all four elements?" Still no reaction. Suddenly, a boy, about 15 years old, ran at Zuko with a club. Zuko easily flipped the assaulter over and into a bank of snow. "Where is the Avatar!" he shouted.

"We don't have the Avatar!" someone shouted back. Zuko was about to lose his temper.

"I think you're looking for me!" A young boy with no hair and weird blue arrow tattoos in strange yellow and red clothes stepped forward with a staff.

"Are you the Avatar?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, I am.' the boy said proudly.

"But, you're just a kid." Zuko said in disbelief.

"Told you." Mina chimed in.

"If I go with you, will you leave these people alone?" the Avatar asked. Zuko nodded.

"No Aang! You can't!" A girl about the same age, maybe a little younger, as the boy with the club shouted.

"Don't worry Katara, I'll have this whole thing worked out in no time." he said. He clearly didn't understand what was really going on.

"But you're the world's only hope!" she protested.

"I told you, don't worry. It'll all be okay." he reassured. He stepped toward Zuko. He was seized by two crew members and Mina confiscated his staff.

The ship set sail away from the South Pole. They were going home. "This will make an excellent gift for my father." Zuko said, taking the staff from Mina. "Can you believe it Mina, after two years, we're finally going home."

"Oh I can't believe it alright." she said. "I'll be in my room if you need me." Zuko didn't understand her lack of enthusiasm.

* * *

Mina was laying on her bed thinking of the days events. They had the Avatar, which was good, for the most part. She loved seeing Zuko happy and she was happy for him. However, she was nervous for herself. She had been safe from the Firelord for the last two years. She didn't need to constantly worry about if she was going to be called to him each night and she didn't have to put up with the physicality of the abuse. She knew Iroh was right about her being able to make a life for herself without the royal family but Zuko was a part of the royal family too. She didn't want to think about life without him. He was without a doubt her best friend and she really did care about him. Sure, she was blunt and sarcastic toward him, but that was only because he was used to it. She knew that was the best way to get to him, and he knew that too. Almost everything she had done for the past two years was for his benefit and she was alright with that. She didn't want to lose him after everything they'd been through together. She was torn from her thoughts by a loud clamor on deck. She ran out to see what all the commotion was about.

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" Mina exclaimed running out on deck. The scene before her was absolute chaos. The Avatar had escaped his bondage and was trying to escape.

"Don't let the Avatar escape!" Zuko yelled. Without thinking, Mina sprang into action with the rest of the crew. The Avatar was no match for several firebending masters. Despite their efforts, the Avatar managed to elude all of the attacks and attempted to take off on his glider but Zuko grabbed him by his ankle and they both came crashing to the deck.

Suddenly, the Avatar's sky bison appeared. The two teenagers from the Water Tribe village were on its back. The Avatar, shocked by the appearence was unable to prepare himself for Mina and Zuko's blows. The Avatar was separated from his staff and knocked into the icy sea below. The Water Tribe girl cried out terrified for her friend. Nothing could prepare them for what happened next.

The sea began to rise around the ship and the Avatar resurfaced, his tattoos radiantly glowing white. He began to waterbend. He knocked out the entire crew and sent Zuko overboard. As he came out of the odd state he was in Mina saw a chance to seize him before his sky bison had landed but decided against it. She didn't have the energy to fight off the sky bison and his riders and more importantly she didn't want to go back to the Fire Nation. She realized how selfish she was being but for once didn't care. One day she'd explain everything to Zuko. Just not yet. Plus, no one saw her let the Avatar escape. They were all still discombobulated from the waterbending attack.

The sky bison began to fly away with the Avatar and his companions. Zuko had climbed his way back onto the main deck and in a fit of fury lashed out a quick series of fire blasts into the sky and let out a frustrated yell. "How could we have let him escape?"

"He just got lucky this time, darling." Mina said reassuringly. "We'll get him next time for sure." She added for good measure.

"Yes. I will." he said.


	7. Conversations

_**A/N: The next chapter! This is sort of a filler. I've been struck with writer's block :/ Please read, review, follow, and favorite :)**_

Prince Zuko loomed over the world map trying to figure out where the Avatar was headed next. He knew the young boy still needed to master Water, Earth, Fire. "He's gotta be headed to the North Pole." he whispered to himself. He also noticed that they were close to the Southern Air Temple. There was a soft knock on the door. "It's unlocked!" he shouted, immediately recognizing the knock. Mina entered the room.

"What are you doing?" she asked with interest.

"Trying to figure out where the Avatar is going next." he said plainly. "I think he's going to the Southern Air Temple. I was about to go tell the helmsman to set course to it."

"I think we should wait until after he visits the temple before attempting to capture him again." Mina was nervous for Zuko's response.

"Why?" he asked with an annoyed edge in his voice.

"Don't you think it's weird that the Avatar is so young? And that he's oblivious to the war?" she asked.

"Yeah I do, but what are you getting at?" The prince was curious.

"I don't think he knows about the war. Or what the Fire Nation did to his people." she explained.

"And how does this relate to not capturing the Avatar at the temple?" he asked.

"He's going to be devasted Zuko. I know that you want to go home but I really think you should leave him alone until after he's come to peace with what's happened and what's going on." she said.

"Why should I show any kindness to the Avatar?" he sneered.

"Because he's just a little kid Zuko. And his world is about to come crashing down around him." she explained. Zuko sighed.

"Alright, fine." he agreed. "Where do you think he's been all this time?" he added.

"Your guess is as good as mine." she responded. The room was silent for a moment.

"So, uh, why did you come to my room?" Zuko asked, the awkwardness he felt was revealed in his voice. Mina only came to his room when it was storming outside and there wasn't a cloud in the sky today.

"You haven't come out of your room all day, I wanted to make sure you hadn't moped yourself to death. And I was bored." she explained. Zuko couldn't help but laugh. He was used to Mina making jokes at his expense.

"I can't help but be depressed." he said.

"Why is that?" she asked concerned.

"I-we could've been on our way home by now if I had captured the Avatar. I let us, Uncle, and the entire crew down by failing." he said. Mina could tell by the pained expression in his face that he felt as though he had failed her.

"Zuko, don't worry about me." she said. "I don't care if it takes the rest of our lives to find the Avatar, I'm sticking with you. Truth be told I'd prefer a life at sea to the a life at the palace any day."

"Well I guess now I only have to worry about the crew hating me." he laughed.

"If it makes you feel better, I think they've hated you since day one." Mina said.

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?" he asked raising his voice.

"Well they don't hate you because you didn't capture the Avatar. They hate you because you're a moody, brooding, angry sixteen year old boy." she explained.

"Gee, thanks." he scoffed.

"At least I'm honest, darling." she said with a coy smile. "So what do you wanna do?" she added.

"Well I was going to sit in here and continue brooding over yesterday but I was rudely interrupted by a nosy, bored, overly honest sixteen year old girl." he said, mocking her previous tone.

"Well, what do you wanna do now?" she asked.

"I don't know." he said. "We could spar if you wanted. You could give me a lesson, if you want." he offered. Mina walked over from the table they were standing at and flopped down onto the Prince's bed.

"That requires too much effort." she sighed.

"Hey I just made that!" he exclaimed.

"So?" she retorted.

"Well what do you wanna do?" he asked her. She thought about the question.

"I don't know." she said as she continued thinking. "We could go for a walk around the deck. Or we could go get something to eat. Surely you must be hungry. You've been holed up in your room all day." Zuko suddenly became aware of his hunger as many often do once the subject of food has been brought up.

"What was for lunch today?" he asked.

"I don't know. I haven't eaten since breakfast this morning." she answered.

"Then let's go check it out. Now that I think about it, I'm starved." he said.

* * *

When they got to the mess hall Unlce Iroh was there. "Well I'm glad to see somebody decided to come out of his room today." he smirked. "Did you have to drag him out kicking and screaming.?" he asked Mina. She contain her laughter.

"No. I got hungry." Zuko explained plainly.

"Well we've got noodles for lunch!" the old man exclaimed.

"Sign me up!" Mina said, matching his enthusiasm.

"How can you guys always be so happy all the time?" Zuko asked annoyed.

"Zuko, it's noodles. Who wouldn't be happy?" Mina explained. Zuko rolled his eyes. They all sat down to eat their lunch.

"So Prince Zuko, where are we headed next?" his Uncle asked.

"I think the Avatar is headed to the North Pole. He needs to master waterbending." he said. He didn't mention anything about the Southern Air Temple. Mina was right about the Avatar needing time to take everything in.

"So are we just going to follow him across the world?" Iroh asked.

"We haven't got any other choice." Zuko explained. "The only way we can go home is if I capture the Avatar. It'll be worth it once we're all living easy back in the palace again." Iroh shot a look at Mina as he listened to his nephew. Iroh knew Mina didn't want to go back to the palace. He also knew Mina didn't want a life without Zuko. They had become each other's only friend.

"Very well. We'll continuing sailing north until we get on the Avatar's trail." Iroh said. "And I suppose if they opportunity presents itself, we'll try to capture him before we reach the north pole." They continued eating. "What have you been up to today Mina?" Iroh asked breaking the silence.

"Well I practiced a few firebending routines and updated the ship's log and then went to bother Zuko for a while." she said.

"Well you've done more than me, that's for sure." Iroh responded with a laugh. "All I've done is drink tea and play Pai Sho by myself."

"Do you wanna play Pai Sho later?" Mina offered. "I still haven't beaten you once in the past two years but my day is coming!"

"I'm always up for a game of Pai Sho! Maybe Zuko will even play the winner." Iroh laughed.

"I don't think so. That game is for old people and Mina." he said.

"Way to be a party pooper Zuko." Mina sighed. "And to think we've put up with you for the past two years." It was meant to be harmless comment, but Zuko took it the wrong way.

"You weren't the one that was banished!" he shouted.

"I know." she said lowering her voice. She really didn't want to start an argument.

"So why are you always complaining?" he continued on with his raised voice.

"I wasn't complaining, Zuko. You know how I am. I was just joking." she tried to explain.

"That's always your excuse when in reality you're just trying to cover up how unhappy you are and how irritated you are by me." he retorted.

"Zuko that's not true." she was trying to stay calm. His last comment had really stung.

"Yes it is! You know you didn't have to come with me!" he yelled.

"Actually I did!" Mina raised her voice.

"Why!?" he shouted. The room went silent and Iroh, who had been watching the entire argument, alternated looking at both of the teenagers he was responsible. He wondered if Mina was going to tell Zuko why she had accompianied him on his quest.

"I-I can't." was all she could utter.

"Why not?" he asked, his voice finally getting quieter. He knew whatever the reason was it had to do with those awful bruises she had the day they left the Fire Nation. She couldn't hide the ones on her face but even the bruises on her hips went noticed. She could hardly move for the first week and had constantly been in pain.

"I just can't okay." she had tears in her eyes now and she ran out of the mess hall to her bedroom.

Zuko looked over at his Uncle. "I'm such an idiot!" he exclaimed punching the nearest wall.

"You sure are." Uncle sighed as he got up and left the room.


	8. Contemplation, Nightmares, and Apologies

**A/N: Just a warning mild to medium sexual stuff in this chapter, nothing too bad though. It's rated T for a reason. Read, Review, Favorite, Follow! Enjoy!**

Zuko had returned to his bedroom brooding once more. Was he ever going to find out Mina's secret? Whatever it was, it had to be big. Otherwise why would she have been making such a big deal about it? Uncle Iroh had urged Zuko not to pry, but Zuko didn't know how much longer he could hold out without knowing. He had no idea what could have happened during her years at the palace to make her not want to go back. He wondered if it had anything to do with Azula, but he didn't remember the two girls being around one another all that often. Perhaps she hadn't gotten over his mother's disappearence. He still hadn't gotten over it either. Then there was his father, but as far as he knew Mina had never spent much time with the Firelord.

Zuko returned to his world map. He now had to wonder if Mina was truly concerned for the Avatar's mental well being or if she was just trying to stall getting back to the Fire Nation. He supposed it didn't matter. By the time they had reached the Southern Air Temple the Avatar and his friends could've been long gone. The Prince moved over to his bed and laid down. He wondered if he should go apologize to Mina. He hadn't meant to hurt her. He decided he'd go apologize to her later. After all, they both needed time to cool down after arguments. Their tempers were just too over powering.

Zuko rolled over on the bed. He closed his eyes and took a restful nap.

* * *

It was a rare moment when Mina couldn't control her emotions. This was one of those moments. The echo of Zuko's cutting words still rang in her head as she cried into her pillow. She knew he hadn't meant to hurt her but that didn't change the fact that he did. She couldn't blame him for his ignorance. She was the one who had been keeping him in the dark for years, but she just couldn't tell him about it yet. She wasn't ready to talk about it yet. She finished up her bout of crying and looked up to the ceiling, thinking. Now her head hurt and she knew she wasn't about to leave her room with her eyes all puffy and her face all blotchy. So she fell asleep.

* * *

Mina was in her bedroom at the palace. She had just gotten back from dinner when there was a knock on the door. A palace messenger entered and handed her a slip of parchment. She knew what it said and who it was from without opening it. She thanked the messenger and sent him on his way and then opened it. She skimmed the message and felt the same old clench in her stomach. The feeling reminder that this was all she was good for. Forget her intellect, her firebending skills, and her other talents. She was only good for this.  
She didn't want to move. She didn't want to go. She stood there for a good five minutes before her feet finally moved. Slowly she walked down the vast corridor that led to Firelord Ozai's private quarters.

"Ah, Mina. I've been expecting you." he sneered as he grabbed her shoulders and began to rub them. She cringed at his touch. Anger flushed on his face as he turned her around to face him and shook her by the shoulders. "What's the matter?" he asked her getting too close to her face for comfort. "Did I make you uncomfortable?"

She wanted with all of her will power to say yes but she couldn't. She didn't want to deal with the consequences. "N-no sir," she said, "you just surprised me is all."

He let out a slow, calculated laugh. She was reacting exactly like he wanted her to react. He moved to the bed taking her along with him. He sat down on the edge and made her sit on his lap. He slipped her shirt off and wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. The other hand cupped her breast as he planted kisses down her neck. She squirmed but her only pulled her closer. His hands moved down to her thighs and he pulled up her skirt. He made the next transition so fast she didn't realize what had happened. He flipped her over so she was laying face up on the bed and he was looming over her. He unfastened his trousers and she tried to get off the bed to escape. He laughed again. "Not so fast." he said as he pinned her to the bed. "Now I'll tie you to the bed if I have to and I can promise that you won't like it. Do you understand?" he whispered savagely.

"Yes sir." She nodded with tears in her eyes. He finished undoing his pants and noticed that she had turned away. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. She gasped in terror. Firelord Ozai had turned into Prince Zuko.

* * *

Mina started awake. Even though she had been having nightmares of this nature since she left the Fire Nation they still left her feeling disturbed and scared. She considered talking to Uncle Iroh about them but there are just some things best left untalked about. She was startled by her stomach growling. She got up, made herself look halfway presentable, and headed to the mess hall.

* * *

When Mina arrived to the mess hall she noticed Zuko was there again as well. She got her food and sat at a table by herself. Zuko excused himself from the conversation he was currently a part of and sat down in the chair next to Mina. She didn't look at him for a while.

"Mina, I just wanted to say that I was sorry for being such a jerk earlier. I know you gave up a lot just to help me find the Avatar but that can be easy to forget sometimes. And I'll stop pushing you to tell me the reason why you don't want to go back to the Fire Nation. I know you will tell me when you feel like it's the right time." he said. Mina looked up at the young prince.

"I forgive you," she said.


	9. Zhao and Zuko Agni Kai

**A/N: So I read through the episode summaries way too fast and realized I was missing this rather vital scene...this should come right after Contemplation, Nightmares, and Aplogies. Sorry for failing you guys...I'll get back to where I left off tomorrow.**

They had docked in an Earth Kingdom harbor so the ship could be repaired. It had sustained quite a bit of damage from their first encounter with the Avatar. "We need to get this done fast so we can get out of here." Zuko said. "And don't tell anybody about the Avatar." he ordered. "There are Fire Nation soldiers everywhere."

"Why are we keeping the Avatar on the downlow?" Mina whispered.

"I don't want other firebenders to go after him" Zuko explained in a hushed tone.

"Prince Zuko, General Iroh, welcome to my harbor." a voice came behind them.

"Commander Zhao!" Iroh exclaimed. "What a surprise."

"And Mina." Zhao said, changing the tone of his voice ever so slightly. "What brings you all to my harbor?" he asked politely.

"My ship needs to be repaired." Zuko said simply.

"That's quite the damage. What happened?" Zhao asked curiously.

"We collided with an Earth Kingdom ship." Zuko lied.

"Interesting." Zhao said. "How about you come and have a drink and tell me all about it." Zhao offered.

"We'd really rather not." Zuko said trying to get out of it.

"Prince Zuko, you must show Commander Zhao some respect." Iroh said. "We would be honored to join you for tea." Zuko and Mina glared.

Zhao was discussing the Fire Nation's plans to win the war and Zuko was voicing his doubts. "How is your search for the Avatar coming along Prince Zuko?" Zhao asked.

"We've had no luck so far." Zuko said.

"That's unfortunate." Zhao said.

"Yes it is. Now we really must be going." Zuko said as he got up to leave.

"Wait." Zhao ordered. A soldier walked in.

"During the interrogation, the crew said that Prince Zuko had the Avatar but let him escape Commander Zhao." the soldier reported.

"Very well. You are dismissed." Zhao said to the soldier who bowed, then exited the room. "I think you have some explaining to do Prince Zuko." he said once the soldier had left.

Zuko started the story from the beginning explaining how he had underestimated the Avatar's skills.

"You're telling me that a twelve year old boy bested you and you crew of fully grown men?" Zhao asked appalled.

"None of us had ever faced an airbender before, we didn't know what to expect!" interjected Mina. She had let the Avatar escape when everyone else was distracted. She's the reason they weren't on their way back to the Fire Nation right now. The least she could do was defend Zuko.

"I don't believe I was talking to you Mina." Zhao said, again changing the tone in his voice. Mina sighed. "Capturing the Avatar is not a job for a couple of teenagers and an old man. From here on out my men will be on the search for the Avatar." Zhao said.

"No! This is my destiny!" Zuko protested.

"You've already proven yourself incapable Prince Zuko." Zhao reminded him.

"I won't underestimate him again!" Zuko exclaimed. Zuko lept at Zhao but was held back by a couple of guards.

"Keep Prince Zuko and General Iroh here." Zhao said and left the tent. Zuko, in his anger kicked over a table.

"Do you think we could get more tea?" Iroh asked politely.

When Commander Zhao returned he informed them that he and his men were ready to set sail and that Iroh, Mina and Zuko would be free to go as soon as his fleet had left the harbor.

"I'm going to capture the Avatar before you Zhao." Zuko said defiantly. Zhao laughed.

"How is a banished Prince going beat Commander with the resources I have at my disposal?" he asked. "Besides, if your father really loved you he'd let you come home by now, with and without the Avatar." Zhao smirked. Mina stood up to start arguing with Zhao, he had crossed a line, but Zuko put his arm out to stop her.

"Commander Zhao, I challenge you to an Agni Kai at sunset." Zuko spat with rage. Mina looked over at Zuko with wide eyes.

"Very well, Prince Zuko." Zhao accepted the challenge, then he left the tent again.

"Prince Zuko, do you remember how your last fight with a firebending master ended?" Iroh asked with a nervous concern in his voice.

Zuko nodded. "I will never forget that fight."

"Zuko are you crazy?" Mina asked angrily once they were alone.

"No! Impulsive, maybe. But not crazy." he said.

"Zhao is a fit Commander! I don't know how you expect to beat him." Mina said shaking her head.

"Well thanks for believing in me!" Zuko shouted offended.

"I'm a realist. I don't even think I could beat him and I've actually mastered firebending." She explained.

"Well trust me, I'm going to win." he said.

* * *

The sun was just setting as they began their duel. "Remember you basics Prince Zuko. They are your greatest assets." Iroh reminded his nephew. Zuko started out strong but Zhao was easily able to nullify his blasts. Zhao took some shots but Zuko was able to block them, however each blast did push him back a few inches. Zhao sent a particularly powerful blast using both of his fists which knocked Zuko to the ground. Zhao quickly made up the distance and was just about to deliver the finishing blow when Zuko rolled out of the way and got back on his feet and knocked Zhao out of his stance with a fiery kick. Zuko, with newfound confidence delivered several low blows causing Zhao to retreat. Zuko knocked the Commander down with another fiery kick. Zuko looked as though he would mark his victory but shot just to the side of Zhao's face.

"The next time you get in my way, I won't hold back." Zuko sneered. Zuko was walking away when Zhao, angry with his defeat, shot a fire blast toward the young prince's turned back. Mina gasped. Iroh easily intercepted the blast and knocked the Commander to the ground.

"It is very dishonorable to attack an enemy when his back is turned. My nephew is far more honorable even in exile." the old man lectured with disgust. "Thanks for the tea though." he said and he too began to walk away.

"Did you really mean what you said back there, Uncle?" Zuko asked once they were out of the arena.

"Yes. Ginseng tea is my favorite." Iroh stated. Mina looked over at Zuko and noticed a small smile appear on his face.


	10. Kyoshi Island and Earth Kingdom Soldiers

**A/N: So this is kinda two chapters in one because one ended up being like 267 words lol. Read, Review, Follow, Favorite, Enjoy! (not necessarily in that order)**

The next day the ship arrived at a small Earth Kingdom port at around midday. Everyone in the town seemed to be a little too excited and they soon found out why. The merchant who was selling them some food exclaimed "Did you hear? The Avatar is on Kyoshi Island!" Zuko's eyes narrowed.

"What did you just say?" he asked curiously.

"The Avatar is on Kyoshi Island! Isn't that exciting?" the merchant exclaimed again with equal enthusiasm.

"Yes. It is." Zuko replied in a low voice. He reboarded his ship and yelled "Set course for Kyoshi Island!"

"Yes Prince Zuko," came a cordial reply.

"Why are we going to Kyoshi Island?" Mina asked as approaching Zuko.

"The merchant who just sold me this," he said indicating the basket of food, "just told me the Avatar is there." he explained

"And you're going to believe him why?" she asked.

"Because his excitement seemed genuine." Zuko justified. Mina rolled her eyes.

They arrived at Kyoshi Island the next day. Everyone got ready for battle. Kyoshi Island was known for its fierce warriors. Some of the crew mounted the rhinos and a few remained on foot. The search was on and the fight followed. The Kyoshi Warriors lived up to their reputation. Every crew member was surprised to find out they were female, even Mina. In the end the Avatar escaped and all Zuko and his crew managed to do was burn down some stuff. However, after watching the female warriors of Kyoshi Mina felt a strange sense of empowerment. After her nightmare yesterday, she kind of needed that.

Zuko was in poor spirits for the rest of the night because again he failed to capture the Avatar.

* * *

After the failure on Kyoshi Island Zuko was in poor spirits but the entire crew knew there was absolutely nothing they could do about it. The next few weeks went slow on board. They had few leads on the Avatar's location and Zuko's patience was dwindling.

"Cheer up Zuko, we'll find him." Mina stated assuredly.

"I hope you're right." he sighed in response.

* * *

One day they took a break and stopped to rest at an nondescript forest. This irritated Zuko but nobody really cared enough to listen to him.

"Zuko, we've been on the ship for weeks. We need a break." Mina tried to reason with him.

"Besides, there are natural hot springs just within the forest, they make for an excellent bath." Iroh added. "You should come with me, you look like you could use some relaxing."

"I don't need to relax!" he shouted. "I need to find the Avatar.

"Suit yourself then, I'll be in the forest if anyone needs me." Iroh said and he was off.

"So what do you want to do?" Mina asked.

"I want to find the Avatar." Zuko sneered.

"Well that's clearly not going to happen today Zuko so will you come off it!" she exclaimed. Zuko stared at her, wide eyed.

"Fine." he said.

"Let's go explore!" Mina said and before he could react, she grabbed Zuko's hand and dragged him into the forest.

* * *

"So why are we up in this tree?" Zuko asked a little while later.

"I don't know, but it sure beats being holed up on that hunk of metal you call a ship all day." Mina said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." he agreed.

"Plus we get the best view of the forest." Mina added.

"Yeah, the forest does look beautiful." Zuko said admiring the view.

"Hey! Look at that steam! I bet that's where Uncle is soaking in those hot springs. Let's go say hi!" Mina shouted suddenly.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah! Come on!"

* * *

"Hi Uncle!" Mina exclaimed as she strode into the clearing where Iroh sat soaking in a hot spring.

"Hello Mina." he greeted back. "And Zuko."

"Hi Uncle." Zuko responded.

"I really think you should get into one of these pools. It will calm your nerves." Iroh said.

"My nerves don't need calming!" Zuko exclaimed. "Hurry up. We're leaving soon."

"Whatever you say." Iroh said standing up to reveal his naked body. Mina and Zuko both covered their eyes in disgust.

"You know what, how about you take a few minutes to get ready before we leave ." Zuko said.

"Thank you Zuko, I knew you would understand." Iroh smirked as he sat back down into the tub.

"But if you aren't ready in thirty minutes, I will leave you behind." Zuko stated as he stomped out of the clearing. Mina followed close behind him.

"I don't want to leave yet." Mina said.

"Yeah, well I do." Zuko said as he stomped on board his ship. Mina sighed and sat down in the grass by the river they were currently on. Zuko did need to relax, and his nerves did need calming. She curled up on the bank and before she knew it she fell asleep.

* * *

"Mina, wake up." she heard a distant voice. "Wake up, Mina." It was Zuko. He had shaken her awake.

"What's going on?" she asked confused. "Are we leaving?"

"Not yet. I can't find Uncle. I think he was captured by Earth Kingdom soldiers." Zuko explained.

"Wait, what?" Mina asked. She was really confused now.

"Uncle was taken captive by Earth Kingdom soldiers. Now get up! We have to go find him." Zuko was losing patience. He had been losing his patience all day and now this happened. It sent him over the edge.

"Alright, alright. I'm up." Mina said as she dusted herself off. "Now how are we going to find Uncle?"

"There are some footprints in the clearing. We'll have to start with following those." Zuko said.

"How do you know they were Earth Kingdom soldiers?" Mina asked as they followed the ostrich horse footprints.

"The earth around the hot spring had been moved in an unnatural way. They were earthbenders." Zuko explained.

"Okay." Mina said and they continued to follow the footprints. They had been searching for hours when they stopped to search the area around them.

"Zuko, we've been searching for hours. How do you know if we're even going in the right direction?" Mina asked skeptically.

"Look!" Zuko exclaimed. "A sandal!" He ran over and picked up the shoe.

"Is it Uncle's?"Mina asked.

"Well there's only one way to find out." Zuko said. He didn't look too happy about it. He sniffed the shoe and choked on the stench. Everyone around him gasped and cringed. "Yup. It's definitely Uncle's." he confirmed. "We're going in the right direction." And they continued on with their search. Mina admired Zuko's determination to find and save his Uncle. It didn't seem like it sometimes, but Zuko really did care about him and the other people he was close too.

They searched on until they heard the vague sounds of a struggle and sped up to see what was going on. From behind some bushes they saw Iroh's hands chained and resting on top of a rock.

"We're going to make it so you can never firebend with these hands again." one of the Earth Kingdom soldiers sneered. Another soldier used his bending to position a heavy rock right over the place where Iroh's hands were. They were going to crush his hands. Without thinking, Zuko burst into action. He ran out of the bushes and kicked the rock right out of the air. With another quick kick he broke the chains that had bound his Uncle.

"Excellent form Prince Zuko!" Iroh praised in approval.

"I learned from the best." Zuko said in response. At this point Mina too came out of hiding in the bushes. Together her, Zuko, and Iroh fought off the Earth Kingdom soldiers. When they had finished Zuko said "Now will you please put some clothes on?" All three of them laughed. "No, but seriously." Zuko added.

**A/N: And now I'm going to go curl up into a ball and cry because my tummy really hurts.**


	11. The Crescent-Shaped Island

**A/N: Here's 10. There's some some inappropriate interaction but it is rated T. I don't think it's too bad. Read, Review, Follow, Favorite, Enjoy! And thanks to Sukki18 for hoping I felt better...it made me smile. Now on to the story. (I may or may not have written this while listening to the Hunchback of Notre Dame soundtrack.)**

The Avatar was headed to Avatar Roku's temple in the Fire Nation now and Zuko was hot on his trail.

"Prince Zuko, you do realize you were banished from the Fire Nation. The blockade will have you arrested." Iro explained, trying to reason with his stubborn nephew.

"I'm chasing after the Avatar. My father will understand." Zuko stated plainly. Mina scoffed.

"Zuko, you're an idiot." she said under her breath.

"My brother is not a very understanding person." Iroh reminded him.

"We're following the Avatar into the Fire Nation!" Zuko exclaimed. Mina shook her head. Suddenly the blockade came into view. They were about to enter Fire Nation waters.

"Zuko we're never going to get past this blockade." Mina said nervously. She didn't want Zuko to be arrested. And she really didn't want to be apprehended and possibly sent back to the palace.

"Yes. We will." he stated stubbornly. Mina rolled her eyes. Zuko ordered his men to shoot flaming rocks at the Avatar's sky bison using the catapult. The crew obeyed reluctantly. The sky bison did an excellent job dodging projectiles from both sides; Zuko's ship wasn't so lucky. A flaming rock from the blockade hit the ship in back causing smoke to billow all around.

"Prince Zuko, the engine is damaged we have to stop to repair it." an engineer informed Zuko. Prince Zuko knew he had no other choice but to continue is his pursuit of the Avatar.

"Full steam ahead!" he ordered. His command was obeyed.

The Avatar had gotten past the blockade. Zuko ordered his ship to be brought to the edge. There they all saw who was in command of the blockade: General Zhao. Mina shuddered. She had experienced a few moments with him that had quite literally scarred her for life. The Firelord was into menage a trois. Zhao despised Zuko almost as much as Mina despised Zhao and Zuko's feelings were mutual. To their surprise, Zhao let Zuko's ship pass through the blockade. Mina knew it was so Zhao could follow him to the Avatar and claim the victory and glory as his own. By the look on Zuko's face, he knew it too.

"What should I do?" Zuko asked. Mina wasn't sure if he was talking to her, and himself.

"What should you do about what?" Mina asked in return.

"My ship is smoking. Zhao is going to be able to see it for miles!" he explained. Mina thought for a few moments,

"Okay, here's the plan. Send the crew on a false path and we'll follow the Avatar in the smaller boat. We'll rendezvous halfway between the blockade and the island." Mina suggested.

"Mina, that is genius." Zuko said impressed. He ran off to tell the crew the plan.

* * *

When Zuko and Mina reached the crescent shaped island the Avatar was already inside the temple. They ran inside and were met by the fire sages. Mina could tell by the looks on their faces that they were surprised to see the banished prince in the Fire Nation. "Where is the Avatar?" Zuko asked immediately.

"We don't know." a Fire Sage replied.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Zuko sneered.

"Come quick!" came a distant voice. "The Avatar has gotten into the chamber." The Fire Sages followed the voice. Zuko and Mina followed the Fire Sages.

The four sages they met at the door and the fifth sage used their bending to open the door. But to their surprise they saw not the Avatar behind the door, but his flying lemur. The two Water Tribe kids, the lemur, and the fifth Fire Sage held down the other four sages.

"Aang, you must enter the chamber now!" yelled the fifth Sage. Now it was the Avatar's team to be surprised. Zuko had taken hold of the Avatar. The rest of the group was stunned giving the other four sages a chance to hold them down.

"Close the door!" Zuko yelled as he struggled with Aang. Mina ran to help the sages but they were still short one firebender. Two of the sages were tying up the Avatar's team. Aang saw his chance he broke free of Zuko's grasp and ran for the door. Zuko ran to help close the door. Despite having all the necessary fire benders, they were too late. The Avatar had gotten in before the door closed. "Let's open it again." Zuko said. They shot the fire at the designated holes, but the door didn't open. They tried again, but it was the same result.

"Avatar Roku must have sealed the door. He doesn't want anyone in there." a fire sage explained.

"Well the Avatar has to come out eventually." Zuko said. "We'll wait for him."

* * *

In the meantime, Zuko approached the treacherous Fire Sage. "Why did you help the Avatar? The Fire Nation's biggest enemy?" he asked.

"It was once the Fire Sages' duty to help the Avatar, and I believe it still is." the sage answered simply but with pride. Suddenly Zhao and a group of soldiers entered. Mina's plan didn't work.

"Zuko, you're under arrest for entering the Fire Nation." he stated and two soldier apprehended the banished prince. "Get the girl too." he commanded.

"You can't arrest me, Zhao. I'm here legally." Mina argued. Zhao laughed.

"Any ally of Zuko's is an enemy to the Fire Nation." he said. Then he got really close to her face and sneered, "I'd watch yourself, Mina. You don't know how this is going to end." Mina glared at the man and he very well knew why. They both knew what was going to happen to her once they got on board his ship. "Men, we will wait for the Avatar to come out." he added. Zhao had his men chain Zuko with the Avatar's friends but had Mina chained by herself on another pillar out of sight of the others. He casually walked over to where she was.

"Look at you all grown up." he smirked, again getting needlessly close to her face.

"Get away from me." she sneered as she tried to back into the pillar more, but she couldn't. Zhao laughed, still uncomfortably close to Mina. He grabbed hold of her waist and sighed.

"I can't wait to get you in my bed. I'm sure you're much more experienced than the last time." he said. Mina spat on his face.

"You're disgusting!" she exclaimed. He put his hand over her mouth.

"If you don't quiet down, I won't go on easy you tonight." he growled. Mina shut up defeated. Zhao smirked just as a bright light shone out of the chamber. The door opened and he ran over to attack. To everyone's surprise it wasn't Aang standing at the doorway, but Avatar Roku. Avatar Roku sent a fire blast back to his attackers knocking all of them off their feet. The heat from the blast melted off all of the chains binding Mina, Zuko, and the Avatar's team. Zuko ran over to Mina.

"We need to get out of here, Mina." Zuko said hurriedly.

"Well no shit." she responded. They ran out of the temple and back onto their boat. From the boat they watched as the temple burned to the ground due to the work of Avatar Roku. Shortly afterward, they saw the Avatar and his team fly away on his sky bison. Zuko sighed and kicked the side of the boat.

"I failed again." he said. "We lost again."

"At least we weren't arrested." Mina said with a sigh of relief. That was a close one. "Or killed." she added as an afterthought.

"But we still didn't get the Avatar!" he repeated.

"We could've died!" she repeated. Zuko was silent.

"What was up with Zhao's interest in you?" he asked randomly.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently. She wasn't ready to tell him yet.

"Just the way he looked at you. And how he chained you up. And how he talked to you." he explained. "I didn't even know you two had met."

"I don't know. He's just kind of creepy." she said. She hoped that was all she'd have to say on the subject. Zuko looked at her. He knew there was more to the story, but he wasn't going to pry.

"Let's go back to ship." he said. "I'm exhausted."

"Me too." she agreed.


	12. Pirates

**A/N: Here's 11. Read, Review, Follow, Favorite, Enjoy!**

Mina was watching Zuko sparr with Lieutenant Jee when Iroh ran out onto deck. "Prince Zuko we have to find a port something awful has happened!" the old man exclaimed.

"What's happened?" Zuko asked.

"I lost my White Lotus Pai Sho tile!" Iroh explained. "I have to go find one immediately."

"You taking us off course for a Pai Sho tile?" Zuko asked in disbelief and anger.

"Not just any Pai Sho tile Zuko, the White Lotus tile." Mina stated defending her uncle's request. "It won't take long." she added trying to convince her angsty peer.

"Fine!" he exclaimed with smoke exiting his mouth and nose. "Set course for the nearest port." He stormed off the deck as it was being engulfed in smoke. Mina coughed.

"It's so good to have an understanding nephew." he said to Mina.

* * *

Later that day they came to port in a small riverside town. They spent the rest of the day at the market place. Much to Zuko's dismay, Iroh could not find a replacement White Lotus tile. However, he did purchase a number of new instruments for the crew's weekly music night. Then they came across a group of pirates and their 'curio' shop which was undoubtedly filled with stolen goods. Iroh went and asked if they had any Pai Sho tiles while Mina and Zuko looked around. One of the pirates bumped into Mina causing her to bump into Zuko. A weird jingling sound came from his pocket.

"What's in your pocket Zuko?" Mina asked.

"Excuse me?" he asked surprised.

"What made that sound?" she clarified.

"Oh, it's that Water Tribe girl's necklace." he said, pulling it out of his pocket.

"Where'd you get it?" Mina asked raising an eyebrow.

"I found it on that rig prison where they were keeping all of those Earthbenders." he explained.

"Oh. Are you sure it's hers?" she asked.

"I've never seen another necklace like it." Zuko said. "So, I'm pretty sure it is."

"Well, I'm sure it will come in handy if you ever need to bribe her." Mina said.

"Hey have you kids seen two Water Tribe kids and another kid with a blue arrow tattoo on his head?" one of the pirates asked.

"Not recently. Have you?" Zuko asked curiously.

"They were just in here this morning and stole a very valuable waterbending scroll." The pirate explained. "Why do you sound so curious? Do you have a score to settle with them too?" he asked.

"Yes, we do." Zuko said. "If you help me find the kid with the blue arrow tattoos I'll make sure you get your scroll back." Zuko offered. They had gained the other pirates' attention now.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" one of the pirate's asked skeptically.

"We're firebenders. What the hell are we going to do with a waterbending scroll?" Mina asked sarcastically.

"Very well." the lead pirates said, shocked at the gall Mina had to speak up like that surrounded by a bunch of intimidating men. "You have yourselves a deal. Now let's find the little thieves."

* * *

They had managed to capture the Water Tribe girl while she was practicing her bending and tied her to a tree. Zuko began the interrogation. "Where is the Avatar?" he asked.

"I'm not telling you." the girl responded defiantly.

"What if I told you I had something you wanted. Something you've been missing?" he asked coyly.

"What are you talking about?" the girl asked confused.

"This." He said as he revealed her necklace.

"Where did you get that?" she gasped.

"That's not important. What is important is that if you tell me where the Avatar is hiding, you can have the necklace back." he said.

"I'm not telling you where Aang is." she exclaimed.

"Give us the scroll!" The lead pirate ordered.

"I'll destroy it if the Avatar isn't found!" Zuko threatened. The pirates reluctantly started searching for the Avatar. "Mina stay here with her." he added.

"Aye, aye captain." she said impassively. Zuko left to search for the Avatar, leaving Mina and Katara alone.

"I'm sorry." Mina said. Katara looked up.

"For what?" she asked confused. "You've never really done anything. You're just there."

"I'm sorry for the way he just treated you." Mina clarified. Katara was just about to inquire further when a couple of pirates came out of the trees with The Avatar and the Water Tribe boy. The entire group met up to exchange the Avatar for the waterbending scroll.

"Wait a second. Do you pirates know what you're doing?" the water tribe boy said.

"What are you talking about, boy?" The lead pirate asked.

"Yeah Sokka, what are you talking about?" The Avatar asked.

"Do you know who this kid is?" Sokka asked.

"No. Who is he?" The pirates were curious now.

"I'm shocked Prince Zuko didn't tell you that Aang is the Avatar and is worth so much more than a dumb waterbending scroll." Sokka explained.

Mina's eyes widened. "You never told them he was the Avatar?" Mina asked incredulously.

"Do you know what the bounty is on him?" Zuko whispered back.

"The boy is right," the lead pirate said. "You can keep the scroll. We're taking the Avatar to the Fire Nation."

"That's not the deal we made!" Zuko exclaimed. Before long the pirates and Zuko's crew were fighting. This gave the Avatar and his friends time to escape their clutches. Mina watched them as they stole the pirates' ship.

"Hey Pirate man! You might want to keep a better eye on your ship!" Mina exclaimed and the fighting ceased.

"My ship!" The lead pirate exclaimed and Zuko laughed. The other pirates ran and took Zuko's smaller boat.

"My boat!" Zuko exclaimed. Mina facepalmed. Mina, Zuko, and Iroh watched as the ships sailed upstream towards a waterfall.

"Prince Zuko, you're never going to believe this. The White Lotus tile was in my sleeve the whole time!" Iroh giggled nervously. It was Zuko's turn to facepalm. He grabbed the Pai Sho tile and threw it upstream in a fit of frustration.

"Let's get out of here." Zuko said.

"Hey, do you still have that waterbending scroll?" Mina asked. Zuko checked himself.

"No. Somebody must have taken it from me during the fight." Zuko said.

"We literally gained nothing from this entire trip." Mina stated. Zuko walked over to the nearest tree and hit his head on it repeatedly. "Let's go, darling." Mina said pulling him away. "It's been a long day."


	13. The Storm

**A/N So I was going to wait until tomorrow to publish this but then I got some favorites, follows, and reviews and couldn't deal so here is chapter 12 you beautiful people! Sorry if it's a bit short. Read, Review, Favorite, Follow, Enjoy!**

"There is a storm coming." Iroh warned his nephew.

"How do you figure?" Zuko asked. "There isn't a cloud in the sky."

"I feel it. It's going to be a bad Prince Zuko. We must get to safety." Iroh recommended.

"Catching the Avatar is far more important than the my, yours and any of the other crew's safety." Zuko stated. Mina was shocked. That was not the right thing to say. Lieutenant Jee had heard this. He walked over to Zuko.

"What's wrong with you?" Jee asked.

"I'm commanding my ship. It would do you well to learn some respect." Zuko stated.

"What do you know of respect? You're nothing but a spoiled prince." Jee spat back and turned to walk away. This was not good. Mina moved to the far side of the deck to avoid any crossfire. The two men continued arguing almost to the point of physical fighting. Luckily, Iroh came between the two.

"We are all tired. Let's all go calm down in the mess hall and have a bowl of noodles." the old man suggested.

"Noodles sound good." Mina agreed nervously. She just wanted the conflict to be over.

"No. I don't need any help maintaining discipline on my ship." Zuko refused then he stomped off to his room. Iroh followed him.

"Let's go get some noodles." Jee said and the rest of the crew followed him. Mina was left alone on deck. It began to rain.

The storm began to pick up and Mina was getting frightened. She wanted to go up to Zuko's room, but she knew that wasn't an option today. She had seen Iroh go to the mess hall with the rest of the crew. She decided to follow him and hang out with the crew for this storm.

When she entered she heard the crew badmouthing Zuko. She duck into the shadows and hid behind a barrel as she eavesdropped on the conversation. Then she heard Iroh's voice.

"Do you know why my nephew is the way he is?" he asked simply.

"Is there a reason he is the way he is?" Jee asked.

Iroh nodded. "Two years ago Prince Zuko begged me to take him into his father's war room for a meeting. Reluctantly, I obliged but warned Zuko not to speak out of turn. An admiral was describing his plan, which involved using the forty-first division as bait. Prince Zuko did not agree. He spoke up and called the admiral's plan an act of betrayal. He right of course, but the Firelord saw this as an act of great disrespect. He ordered an Agni Kai be held to resolve the issue." The crew was listening intently. "Zuko thought his father had meant and Agni Kai between the elder admiral but when he turned to face his opponent it was not the admiral, but Firelord Ozai."

"His father?" a crew member asked.

"Yes. Zuko had thought that he had disrespected the admiral but because he was in the Firelord's war room the Firelord had taken offense. Prince Zuko refused to fight his father. He tried to convince Firelord Ozai that he only had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart and begged for forgiveness. Ozai demanded that Zuko fight for his honor. Zuko continued to refuse. The Firelord, fed up, shot a blow right at Zuko's face. That's how he got his scar. Ozai then proceeded to banish Zuko from the Fire Nation until he captured the Avatar." Iroh finished his story.

"I always thought it was a training accident." Jee said amazed. "What about Mina? What's her story? Why is she here?" Mina's eyes widened. She wondered what he would tell them.

"That is a story I do not have the right to tell. She hasn't even told Zuko yet." Iroh stated. "The only reason why I know about it is because I unintentionally involved myself in it." Mina let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly the ship was struck by lightning. Mina snapped back to reality. She had forgotten about the storm. The crew ran out to the deck to assess the damages and Mina was left alone in the dark. As soon as the thunder sounded she ran out to the deck with everybody else.

Mina saw the helmsman dangling from his tower. Zuko ran to the rescue alongside Lieutenant Jee. Lightning flashed across the sky and almost hit the ship again but Iroh redirected it away. Mina stood in awe. Zuko ran over to her.

"Are you okay, Mina?" he asked concerned. He was shocked that she had ran out on deck with the rest of the crew.

"Yeah, but we've gotta get out of here." she said.

"Uncle, what should we do?" Zuko asked frantically.

"Go to the eye of the storm." he instructed. "It's going to get worse before it gets better." With all the crew working together they managed to penetrate the storms walls and made it into the eye. Mina sighed with relief and collapsed onto the deck and just laid there. The eye was beautifully calm and there wasn't any thunder and lightning. The Avatar flew over the ship and Jee asked if Zuko wanted to pursue him. Zuko looked around at his exhausted, jolted crew. He looked over at Mina still laying on the deck.

"No. Our safety is far more important than capturing the Avatar right now."


	14. The Blue Spirit

**A/N: I know this is really short but I didn't want to skip this episode and I didn't want to mess it up too much...so I made into a cutesy interaction between Mina and Zuko. I'm posting the next chapter tonight as well to make up for this one's brevity. Read, Review, Follow, Favorite, Enjoy!**

Prince Zuko, Lieutenant Jee, and Mina were hunched over a map making plans to continue their search for the Avatar when a large Fire Nation Naval ship came up right beside their ship, casting it in shadow.

"What do they want?" Zuko asked annoyed.

"Maybe they want to play Pai Sho." Iroh, who was in the midst of a game, said jokingly. A soldier bordered their ship and stated the reason for his presence.

"Admiral Zhao orders all information on the whereabouts of the Avatar to be reported to him." the soldier stated officially.

"Tell Admiral Zhao I congratulate him for his promotion." Iroh said.

"We don't have any information on the Avatar, now get off my ship and let us pass." Zuko demanded.

"Admiral Zhao is not allowing any ships to pass in or out of this area." The soldier informed.

"Get of off my ship!" Zuko repeated even angrier than the first time.

"I won again!" Iroh exclaimed as he gathered his winnings. "Who's up for a rematch?"

* * *

"Prince Zuko are you alright?" Iroh asked. "You haven't given the crew an order in over an hour."

"What's the point? Zhao is going to capture the Avatar." Zuko mused.

"You could still beat him to it." Mina said confidently trying to boost Zuko's spirits.

"How do you figure? Zhao has far more resources available to him than I do." Zuko said. Iroh and Mina sat in silence. They knew they weren't going to cheer him up anytime soon.

"My honor, my throne, my country: I'm about to lose them all." he sighed.

* * *

Later that evening Mina heard someone walking down the corridor where all the bedrooms were. She knew it had to be Zuko. No one else had gone to their room yet. She ran out to talk to him, to try to cheer him up again, but he was gone. She ran on deck to ask Iroh if he knew where Zuko went but he was clueless.

"He won't possibly be gone that long." Mina said to herself. "I'll just wait for him in his room." When she got there the door was unlocked and left ajar. She felt no guilt just walking in. She noticed his decorative broadswords were out of their display and missing. "Huh, that's odd." she thought. Mina walked over to the bed and sat down on it. As the hours passed, she fell asleep right in his bed while waiting for him to return.

* * *

Late into the night, Zuko returned. He was surprised to see Mina in his bed. He hung up his broadswords and hid his blue mask without waking the girl. Then he climbed over the the far side of the bed because she had fallen asleep on the closer side. "What are you doing in here, Mina?" he asked softly.

"I wanted to talk to you, to try to cheer you up, or at least make you feel a little less hopeless, but you weren't here so I waited for you." she explained with a yawn. "I'll go back to my room." she said but made no attempt out of the bed right away.

"You're fine in here for the night." Zuko said, he too yawned.

"Did you have a nice time out?" Mina asked.

"Sure." he responded and turned towards the wall bearing the Fire Nation emblem.

"That's good." she said, too tired to pick up on his odd response. Zuko turned away from the emblem and cuddled up to Mina, putting an arm around her.

"Yeah." he agreed and they fell asleep.


	15. June

**A/N: Here's the next chapter as promised. Read, Review, Follow, Favorite, Enjoy!**

Mina, Zuko, and Iroh were relaxing and drinking tea when suddenly the ship began to rock causing the tea to spill on Zuko. A large animal ridden by a young woman jumped on board the ship surprising the crew.

"What are you doing?" Zuko asked. Before a response was given the animal ripped off a wall of the ship. "My ship!" Zuko yelled.

"I'm a bounty hunter." the woman said. "And i have reason to believe that my target is stowing away on your ship."

"My ship has no stowaways!" Zuko exclaimed. The animal stuck it's snout into the hole it created and an Earth Kingdom man ran out terrified. Mina's was impressed. The man tried to escape but the animal lashed him with it's tongue and he was paralyzed.

"How did you know that man was on my ship?" Zuko asked.

"My shirshu, Nyla, can find anyone on the planet as long as he can catch their scent." she explained. The woman took of with her fugitive in tow leaving Zuko, Iroh, and Mina all impressed.

"You know Zuko, that necklace has Katara's scent on it." Mina said. "Maybe we can hire her to help us find the Avatar."

"I was just thinking exactly that." Zuko responded.

* * *

That evening they went and searched for the woman. They discovered her name was June and that she hung out at a nearby pub. When they got there they observed her beat a very intimidating, strong looking man at arm wrestling. Zuko pulled her aside.

"What do you want angry boy?" she asked uninterested.

"I have a job for you." he pulled out the necklace.

"Did you lose your girlfriend?" she asked teasingly. Zuko blushed and Mina laughed.

"No, I'm after someone she travels with." he explained, not mentioning he was after the Avatar.

"Whatever. What are you going to pay me?" she asked impatiently.

"Your weight in gold." Zuko said. Mina raised an eyebrow.

"Make it Grandpa's weight and you have a deal." she said. Iroh blushed at the attention, albeit it was negative attention, from June.

"Deal." Zuko agreed.

"Damn, you must really want her back." June speculated.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Zuko exclaimed.

"Whatever, come on we're leaving." she said and the four of them were off.

First the shirshu led them back near the Pohuai Stronghold. Mina couldn't help but observe how nervous Zuko was around there. The shirshu led them to an herbalist's greenhouse. The woman thought her cat had gotten in trouble with the Fire Nation again.

"That lady must be certifiably insane." Zuko insisted.

"Or she has a mischievous cat." Mina offered.

* * *

Next they arrived in a small village and the shirshu led them to what they learned to be the town fortune teller's house. The woman, known as Aunt Wu, offered to read Iroh's fortune.

"When you reach my age there is only one big surprise left and I'd like to keep it a surprise." he responded politely. Mina found the answer to be quite profound.

Shortly after they left the town they took a break. June insisted that Nyla needed rest. Honestly, it looked like they all needed rest. The ate some fruit and nuts and then Iroh went to lay down. June soon went to cuddle with Nyla leaving Zuko and Mina alone.

"Mina you look exhausted. Go get some sleep. We've been going all night." Zuko said.

"I'm not tired." Mina yawned.

"Well then at least come sit in the shade with me." he offered. She followed him. Zuko picked a great spot under a huge maple tree with plenty of shade. The both sat down next to each other.

"So what do you think of this June chick?" Mina asked. Now that Zuko had said something, she could barely keep her eyes open. Sensing this, Zuko told her to lay down and she willingly situated herself so that her head rested on his lap.

"She's okay." he said as he stroked Mina's hair. It was a habit that he had started after his banishment. Every time there was a storm and Mina went to his room he would stroke her hair until she fell asleep. It calmed her down and it calmed him down. Mina had never thought much of it. "But Uncle seems quite taken with her." he added.

"Yeah it's kind of gross." Mina said. "She can't be that much older than we are."

"It is pretty gross. But if it helps us find the Avatar and helps her get his weight in gold I think it's worth it." Zuko said. Mina laughed. Before long Mina had fallen asleep. She didn't know how long she had been asleep when Zuko woke her up, but he hadn't moved the entire time. Soon they were off again in search of the Avatar.

* * *

Soon Nyla brought them to an abbey and began to sniff around. "They're close." June said. The shirshu left the abbey and went into the woods. Soon they found Katara and her brother but the Avatar was not with them. "No wonder she left," June said, "she's way too pretty for you." Zuko tried to brush off the comment but he blushed involuntarily.

"Where's the Avatar?" he asked.

"He's not with us." the boy answered. The shirshu lashed its tongue at the the siblings, paralyzing them. As they collapsed to the ground their supplies fell out of their pack. The shirshu sniffed around and picked up on another scent from a map and headed back to the abbey. Once there the shirshu circled the center of the town square a few times.

"What is he doing?" Zuko asked. "There's nothing here."

"Look up." Mina said. The Avatar was right above them on his glider. He swiftly brought the shirshu down throwing them all of its back. June ran to Nyla and Zuko ran to the Avatar. The shirshu tried to attack the Avatar but his sky bison got in the way. Zuko and the Avatar began to duel while the shirshu battled the sky bison. Zuko and the Avatar's fighting caused a large explosion, distracting everyone for a few moments. Then the fighting resumed. The sky bison tried to defend its owner but June and the shirshu managed to paralyze it after multiple lashes. Meanwhile, Mina, who had been watching the fight between Zuko and the Avatar, had noticed that the Avatar had retrieved Katara's necklace from Zuko's clutches.

Zuko, June and Mina had the Avatar cornered but were too busy to realize the Avatar's friends had regained their feeling and were developing a plan. The residents of the abbey poured out vats of liquid, which turned out to be perfume, and Katara turned it into a thick mist. All of the intermixing scents confused the shirshu and caused it to lash out randomly, hitting Zuko, Mina and June. When the fog had cleared the Avatar and his team were gone. Zuko and Mina had fallen together and a little to the side were Iroh and June.

"I didn't see you get hit, Uncle." Zuko grunted.

"Shhh." the old man whispered.

"Now that's really gross." Mina whispered to Zuko.

* * *

Just before they were about to part ways with June, once they had regained their mobility, June pulled Mina aside. "You know, you're too pretty for him too." she said, then she was off.


	16. Explosions and New Plans

**A/N: Here's the next chapter guys! Read, Review, Follow, Favorite, Enjoy!**

It was music night aboard Prince Zuko's ship. Mina particularly enjoyed music night. She liked to sing and play the erhu, an instrument reminiscent of a violin. Iroh had started music night after their first month at sea. He claimed it encouraged relaxation and camaraderie. Surprisingly, Zuko didn't attend very often, despite being a rather gifted tsungi horn player. Uncle Iroh was in the middle of singing a popular folk song called "Four Seasons" when they were interrupted. It was Admiral Zhao.

"Good evening Admiral Zhao." Iroh greeted him respectfully. "Do you care to join us for music night?" he added politely. Mina tried her best not to roll her eyes and Zhao noticed. Iroh was just too polite.

"No, actually I'm here to discuss important matters with you and Prince Zuko." Zhao said. "Where is he?" he asked suspiciously.

"He's in his bedroom. He doesn't like being social." Iroh answered. "Mina, go get Prince Zuko."

"Yes, Uncle." she obeyed, putting her instrument down.

* * *

"Zuko, you aren't going to like this." Mina said as she opened his bedroom door.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Zhao's here." she said. "And he seems rather smug about something. He asked to see you."

"Ugh. What does he want?" Zuko asked getting out of bed.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Mina answered.

* * *

"Prince Zuko." Zhao greeted as the prince stepped onto the main deck.

"Admiral Zhao." Zuko greeted back.

"I'm sure you and your uncle are wondering why I'm here." Zhao mused.

"Yes, we are." Zuko agreed.

"Let's go somewhere where we can talk privately, just the three of us." Zhao said.

"I think you mean four, Mina's coming along too." Zuko said.

"Very well." Zhao sighed.

"Let's go for a walk on the ship and discuss whatever it is you want to discuss with us." Iroh offered.

"Very well." Zhao repeated.

* * *

"I'm planning on invading the Northern Water Tribe soon." Zhao explained once they were out of earshot of the crew.

"What do you plan on gaining with a victory over the Northern Water Tribe?" Iroh asked.

"The Avatar." Zhao stated simply. "I know he's going to the North Pole to learn waterbending, so I'm going to stop him before he gets too far into his training." Zhao explained.

"So why are you telling us this?" Zuko asked trying to stay respectful.

"Well Prince Zuko, I need as many men as I can get." Zhao said. "So I'm taking your crew."

"What?" Zuko exclaimed. "You can't do that!"

"Actually I can." Zhao smirked.

"Told you something was up." Mina whispered to Zuko. "He was just too confident." Zuko nodded in response.

"Iroh, I also wanted to invite to join me to serve as General." Zhao added.

"I am honored by your offer but I should stay with Zuko and Mina. They are my first concern right now." Iroh declined.

"Very well." Zhao nodded, respecting Iroh's decision. Just then they had passed Zuko's bedroom. Mina had accidentally left the door opened. Something on the wall caught Zhao's interest. "I didn't know you were skilled with broadswords, Prince Zuko." Zhao commented eyeing the swords suspiciously.

"I'm not. They're antiques. They're for decorative purposes only." Zuko explained.

"General Iroh, have you heard of the Blue Spirit?" Zhao asked seemingly randomly.

"I have heard rumors, but I do not believe in his existence." Iroh replied.

"Believe me, the Blue Spirit is real and is a wanted criminal of the Fire Nation, but I believe he's going to be brought to justice soon." Zhao said with an odd tone to his voice.

* * *

Later that night, the crew left with Zhao. They really didn't have any other choice. Mina and Iroh went on the main deck to say goodbye, but Zuko stayed in his bedroom. Once the crew departed Iroh and Mina went to see Zuko.

"Did they really leave?" Zuko asked, half hoping they had found a way to refuse.

"Yes. Zhao took everyone. Even the cook." Iroh said. He seemed really sad that the cook had left.

"Good riddance to those traitors." he said, expressing his disappointment.

"At least you've still got us." Mina said in a half-hearted attempt to cheer him up.

"Let's go on a walk." Iroh suggested. "The night air will clear you head."

"I'm staying in room." Zuko said.

"I'll go with you Uncle." Mina offered.

"Are you sure you want to stay here sulking in your room by yourself in the dark?" Iroh asked as they exited the room. Zuko responded by closing the door in their faces.

"Suit yourself." Iroh said under his breath.

* * *

"So what are we going to do now, Uncle?" Mina asked as they walked.

"I do not know." he answered. "We can't run the ship by ourselves. Three people simply isn't enough."

"How long do you think Zuko's going to be sulking?"she asked.

"Who knows. He needs to learn better ways to deal with his emotions than just sitting in his room all day. It isn't healthy." Iroh said. Mina was just about to respond when they heard a loud explosion and saw flames in the direction of the ship. Mina was paralyzed. "Zuko!" Iroh exclaimed and he ran. Mina had never seen the old man run that fast in her life. She followed him after the initial shock set in.

When they reached the ship it was a blazing inferno. There was no sign of Zuko for several minutes. Then he resurfaced having just swam around from the far side of the ship. Mina sighed with relief. He was alive. He was cut up and bruised, but he was alive.

"Oh my god, What happened?" Mina asked. "Are you okay."

"It was those pirates. They blew up the ship. I'll survive, I'm pretty beat up though." he explained.

"I don't think it was just the pirates." Iroh speculated. "I think Zhao put them up to this. I can tell the explosives were of the Fire Nation." he explained. "Zuko, he wanted you gone."

"Well there's only one thing we can do now." Mina said.

"What's that?" Iroh asked. Mina was known for coming up with the plans. She explained her idea to them. Although it put her in a dangerous position (unbeknownst to them) it was there only hope of getting to the North Pole.

* * *

The next day Iroh and Mina went to Zhao's camp. Iroh explained what happened to Zuko and his ship. Zhao replied that he was devastated and asked if they had any idea who might have performed the assassination.

"We had a bad run in with some pirates a few weeks ago. I guess they held a grudge." Mina explained acting like she was trying not to cry.

"I'd like to accept your offer to serve as General." Iroh said. "But Mina must come with me." he added.

"Oh, I think I can find some way Mina can be of use on board." he said slyly. Mina shuddered. She knew what that was.

"Thank you Admiral Zhao." Iroh said noting the tone in the Admiral's voice.

"Let me show you to your quarters." Zhao offered and the left.

* * *

Later, on board the ship Iroh and Mina walked past a soldier. "Zhao, does not suspect a thing." Iroh said. "Our plan is working perfectly." The soldier removed his faceplate to reveal Prince Zuko. "Stay hidden until we reach the North Pole. There you will have a chance of capturing the Avatar before Zhao does."

"Thank you Uncle. And thank you Mina. This plan is brilliant." Zuko said.

"Just be careful and good luck." Mina said hugging him. "We'll meet up after the battle."


	17. The Siege of the North: Part 1

**A/N: So I decided to split the Siege of the North into two parts, mostly because I wanted to update because I haven't in a few days. Read, Review, Follow, Favorite, Enjoy!**

It got colder as they traveled North, thus setting in the reality that they were getting closer and closer to the pole and closer and closer to the Avatar. Mina and Iroh had each gotten a room to themselves, a rare occurrence as most soldiers and other crew members were three to four to a room. This worked to their advantage. They were able to hide Zuko easier, their secret would've been easily blown if he had to share a room with three other people who would instantly recognize him and turn him in. Mina was glad her plan was working so flawlessly, and Zhao hadn't given her much trouble yet so that was a plus. She left her room to go find Iroh.

"Are we there yet?" she asked when she found him in the command tower.

"Almost." he answered.

"We are in the process of writing history, General Iroh." Zhao stated suddenly.

"History is not always kind to its subjects." Iroh warned knowingly.

"Don't worry. This won't turn out like your failed siege of Ba Sing Se." Zhao said.

"I hope for your sake it is not." Iroh sighed.

"Tell the Captain to prepare for the first strike." Zhao ordered Iroh. Iroh obeyed. Mina was about to exit with the General when Zhao grab her arm and held her back. Mina looked at the man and held her breath in nervous anticipation. "You better hope today goes well." he sneered then let her go. "You are dismissed, Mina." he said calmly as if nothing happened. Mina left.

"Why did he hold you back?" Iroh asked curiously.

"Don't worry about it, Uncle." she said. "You go tell the Captain and I'll go find Zuko to let him know we're landing soon."

"Okay." Iroh agreed although he wasn't satisfied with her answer. They said goodbye, then went off in opposite directions.

* * *

Mina searched the ship for Zuko and eventually found him in her bedroom. "There you are!" she exclaimed. "I've been looking all over the place for you. It's kind of hard when I can't call out your name."

"Well here I am." Zuko laughed. "Do you have any news?" he asked.

"Yes. Zhao ordered the Captain to prepare for first strike. We'll be landing soon." she reported. "Do you have a plan yet?"

"I'm working on it." he said. "I need to get to the ship's hold by the end of the night. That's the only place I'll have enough privacy to get ready and to leave unnoticed." he said. "If I don't see you before then, goodbye. I'll see you at the end of the invasion." It was an informal farewell but Mina knew very well it could have been their last. Anything could happen between now and then. Zuko could be discovered. Zuko could get attacked and killed. Mina could get killed (she had every intention of going into battle.) She wrapped Zuko in a tight embrace.

"Please be careful out there, Zuko."she begged. He pushed a stray strand of hair out of her face.

"I will. I promise." he said and hugged her back.

"Well you better get going now." Mina said with regret. "You can't predict how long it will take you to get to the hold. Try and find Uncle on your way so you can say goodbye to him too."

"Okay." Zuko nodded. "And Mina?" he added.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Thank you for everything. If it weren't for this plan we'd have no chance at getting the Avatar." he said.

"No problem Zuko. It's what I do." she said, then Zuko left.

* * *

After a few minutes spent in silent reflection, Mina went out on deck. She was sure she could help somewhere. She found a catapult that was short a hand so she stationed herself there. The other soldiers didn't question her being there, they could use all the help they could get. They were given offers to shoot the first fireball at the ice fortress that was the Northern Water Tribe. They did as they were told and hit the Water Tribe emblem right in the middle of the wall, cracking it. Mina was impressed. What a symbolic way to start. The battle had begun.

Throughout the remainder of the day they continued to shoot fireballs at their opponents. Of course they met some opposition from the waterbenders, but not enough to impede of their progress. There were also rumors spreading that the Avatar himself had stopped a dozen and so ships, but there were far too many for him to stop all of them today. Soon, however, the sun began to set.

"Zhao, I recommend you cease fire now. The waterbenders get their power from the moon" Iroh warned.

"Oh, I'm aware of the moon problem." Zhao sneered. "I'm currently working on a solution." he added. "Cease fire!" he ordered.

"That was an odd response." Mina noted. "Have you talked to Zuko lately?" she whispered to her Uncle.

"Yes." I'm going to say goodbye before he leaves." Iroh said. "I know you too already said exchanged your goodbyes. But will you walk down there with me?" he asked. "There are just some things that even I can't do alone." he explained with tears welling in his eyes.

"Of course, Uncle." Mina said grabbing his hand. "Let's go now, while everyone is distracted.

Mina hid in the shadows while Zuko and Iroh exchanged goodbyes. Mina herself teared up as Iroh equated Zuko to his own son. Zuko promised that he would see his Uncle and Mina again after he found the Avatar. Then he was gone. Mina consoled Iroh for a few minutes, then the old man regained his composure. "Let's go back up now." he said. Mina didn't hesitate to follow.

* * *

Later that night, Mina awaited the inevitable. She knew Zhao was coming and she knew there was nothing she could do to stop him if she wanted to not raise her Uncle's alarm. If she resisted too much he would just beat and burn her, then she wouldn't be able to fight. She was torn from her thoughts by a knock on the door.

"Come in." she almost whispered. It was who she expected it to be. Admiral Zhao.

"I knew you were expecting me." he said slyly with a sick grin on his face. Mina sighed.

"Why do you do this?" she asked, surprising herself.

"To be honest, it has very little to do with you." he said. "You aren't in the least bit desirable. I just know I can control you, make you do whatever I want." he explained, getting closer and closer to her. "And that makes me powerful."

"You're vile and sadistic." Mina spat.

"Yes, I am." he agreed. "But what are you going to do about it?" he whispered right in her ear. She was silent. There was nothing she could do. Zhao smiled. "Now undress." he ordered.

* * *

Mina was disgusted after her little run in with Zhao. The only thing that had changed since she was younger was the degree of his sadism. Maybe it was because she was older, but regardless she didn't want to think about it. She managed to get in a few hours of sleep before the sun rose. All soldier were called out on deck and Mina went too. They were ordered to show no mercy when they entered the Water Tribe village. The first wave of soldiers ran in and brought the wall down.

"The city will fall today," Zhao said, "despite any efforts to prevent the inevitable."


End file.
